noun
- a small, slender missile that is pointed at one end and usually feathered at the other and is propelled by hand, as in the game of darts, or by a blowgun when used as a weapon.
- something similar in function to such a missile, as the stinging member of an insect.
- darts, (used with a singular verb) a game in which darts are thrown at a target usually marked with concentric circles divided into segments and with a bull’s-eye in the center.
- an act of darting; a sudden swift movement.
- a tapered seam of fabric for adjusting the fit of a garment.
verb (used without object)
- to move swiftly; spring or start suddenly and run swiftly: A mouse darted out of the closet and ran across the room.
verb (used with object)
- to thrust or move suddenly or rapidly: He darted his eyes around the room.
noun
- a small narrow pointed missile that is thrown or shot, as in the game of darts
- a sudden quick movement
- zoology a slender pointed structure, as in snails for aiding copulation or in nematodes for penetrating the host’s tissues
- a tapered tuck made in dressmaking
verb
- to move or throw swiftly and suddenly; shootshe darted across the room
noun
- any of various tropical and semitropical marine fish
late 14c., “to pierce with a dart,” from dart (n.). Meaning “to move like a dart” is attested from 1610s. Related: Darted; darter; darting.
early 14c., from Old French dart “throwing spear, arrow,” from Proto-Germanic *darothuz cf. Old English daroð, Old High German tart, Old Norse darraþr “dart”). Italian and Spanish dardo are said to be from Germanic by way of Old Provençal.